Sour Grapes? Cherry's words don't tell the real story in Ottawa

RALEIGH, North Carolina — It’s perfectly fine to have opinions as loud as your suits. But please, Don Cherry, first be familiar with all the facts.

In case you missed the hornet’s nest that Cherry stirred up while speaking during his Coach’s Corner pulpit on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday night, he ripped into Ottawa Senators fans while coming to the defence of Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.

Specifically, Cherry took issue with the #MelnykOut billboards that popped up around Ottawa last week, suggesting the end result could be that the franchise moves to Quebec City.

We’ll get back to the ridiculous notion of a franchise relocation to Quebec in a moment.

Here’s the background on the billboards. They were funded through a GoFundMe account set up by a group of 400-500 passionate fans disgruntled by how Melnyk is operating the franchise. The fans have a laundry list of concerns, including the fact that Melnyk is running the team with a barebones management and scouting staff, relative to other NHL teams. Melnyk appointed himself as president and CEO last month. The fans’ concerns are that the organization has lost touch with the community and that the franchise is becoming more toxic — from major management decisions to personnel decisions — by the day.

With the team buried near the bottom of the NHL standings and captain Erik Karlsson’s future in Ottawa very much in doubt beyond this season, the frustration has hit a fever pitch.

Reaction in Ottawa to the campaign launched Ottawa by billboard champion Spencer Callaghan has been mixed. Some have questioned the point of the exercise, but there have also been indications that Melnyk has noticed.

During a conference call with season ticket holders on Friday, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said that Melynk will address fans in town hall meetings during the next few weeks.

Cherry, though, took the billboard discussion to a place where it’s never going to go — Quebec City.

“He’s nuts to stay there,” Cherry said of Melnyk. “He’d sell out Quebec in a heartbeat.”

When Melnyk threatened to move the franchise during his outdoor game outburst in December, Bettman quickly put those concerns to rest the following day, saying it wasn’t going to happen. Any franchise relocation would require board of governors approval. With Seattle on the verge of joining the NHL for a $650 million expansion fee, Quebec City continues to loom on the horizon as a potential expansion franchise, money that existing franchises would share.

Melnyk, after no doubt receiving a blast from Bettman, himself has written that he’s dedicated to trying to make it work in Ottawa, anxious to be part of the LeBreton Flats arena redevelopment.

“The passion of our fans in the Ottawa community is unlike any other in the NHL,” Melnyk said in a letter to season ticket holders earlier this month. “As an owner, that’s the most important thing of all. That’s why we are looking to improve every aspect of the Ottawa fan experience. And, of course, we continue to work towards realizing our vision for LeBreton Flats.”

Quebec City, here we come? Not so fast.

Cherry’s rant also included the comments that Melnyk has thrown “millions of dollars into that franchise” and that “there’s seven (community) rinks around Ottawa” that he has bankrolled and that “fans are giving him a hard time.”

Here’s the background to that. Melnyk purchased the bankrupt team and the arena from Rod Bryden in 2003 for $120 million, and has been financing the debt ever since.

According to a Forbes Magazine study of NHL teams in November, the franchise value was estimated to be $420 million U.S., prompting considerable speculation that Melnyk could be on the verge of selling. Melnyk, however, has steadfastly denied that he will ever sell the team.

As for the outdoor rinks, they were built by the Ottawa Senators Foundation, with the help of proceeds from charity donations — from the community.

Many of the donations come from the fans that have supported the Senators on the ice, many of the same fans who are deeply concerned with how Melnyk is running the franchise.

In the end, Senators fans who want to see some change did get national attention to the issue. Cherry’s words, though, were more about fiction than fact.

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